LAWRENCE, Kan., March 29, 2000 (PRIMEZONE).--The University of Kansas today formed a partnership with a major oil and gas company to survey and document the plant and animal life in environmentally sensitive areas that may require restoration after oil exploration and drilling.
The KU Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center and Occidental Oil and Gas Corporation signed the Alliance for Biodiversity Assessment at a ceremony in Dyche Hall on KU's Lawrence campus. Signers were:
-- Robert E. Hemenway, KU chancellor;
-- Lawrence P. Meriage, vice president executive services and public
affairs for Occidental Oil and Gas Corp.; and
-- Leonard Krishtalka, museum and research center director.
The five-year agreement calls for teams of researchers and students from the KU museum and research center to inventory the biodiversity of Occidental holdings around the world, beginning with a project during summer 2000 in Ecuador. In addition to South America, Occidental has holdings in eastern Europe, the Middle East, and southeast Asia.
"This alliance is a model of innovative collaboration between industry and academia to benefit science, society and the environment," Krishtalka said. "It also is a terrific example of a responsible corporation partnering with the scientific expertise it needs to act in an environmentally responsible manner."
The project in Ecuador, Krishtalka said, would help address a long-standing need for increased knowledge of the animal and plant diversity of poorly studied tropical areas.
"This agreement not only gives deserved international recognition to the quality and scope of the research and work being done at the KU Natural History Museum, but allows KU to offer its students an incredible opportunity," said Hemenway. "The depth of knowledge and educational experiences KU students will gain from helping conduct surveys and research throughout the world is extraordinary."
Under the agreement, Occidental will cover the cost of research and logistical support in the country being surveyed. For the project in Ecuador, the museum and research center will use a grant from the National Science Foundation to pay travel costs and the cost of curation and research at KU.
The collections will be divided between KU and Ecudorian scientific institutions. Also, Ecuadorian scientists and students will participate in the biodiversity surveys and research to help build that country's biodiversity infrastructure.
"This alliance is important to Occidental because it will add immeasurably to our understanding of the diverse environments in which we operate, "Meriage said. "It underscores our desire to continue refining our operating practices in sensitive environments so that we make only the smallest possible footprint in these areas.
"We expect to be an active partner in supporting the KU museum and research center's commitment to developing a solid scientific base to promote effective and lasting conservation measures."
The agreement signed today is a second-generation biodiversity alliance between KU and Occidental. Under a previous agreement, executed in 1995, scientists and students from KU and from the Universidad Nacional Mayor in Lima, Peru, collected more than 150,000 plant and animal specimens to document the richness of a previously unsurveyed area of Amazonia. The research team identified and inventoried nearly 670 species of plants, animals and insects - including five new species of frogs and toads.
The team also recorded the first occurrence in that region of various species of lizards, marsupials and bats. Tape recordings captured many of the bird songs and frog calls. Hundreds of tissue samples were collected for DNA analysis. According to Krishtalka, the biodiversity data collected in Peru is being analyzed with new biocomputational tools to model and predict the effect on species of changing habitats and climates.